Monday, November 29, 2010

The Northern Spy kale salad

One of my favorite food discoveries is Tuscan kale (also known as Dinosaur kale), raw, sliced thinly, and tossed with a bit of lemon juice, olive oil and grated Parmesan cheese. Well, a couple weeks ago I had an improved version of this salad at a lovely restaurant in New York's Lower East Side called Northern Spy.  Ribbons of raw Tuscan kale, roasted acorn squash, almonds and wisps of cheese made for a delicious combination.  Turns out, it is easy to make at home with the goodies from the farmer's market.  Oh, and I love my new silicon baking sheet liners along with Deb's (over at Smitten Kitchen) method of oiling the sheet, not the vegetables.

Kale salad with acorn squash and almonds
1/2 pound of Tuscan kale
1/2 small-medium acorn squash
1/4 cup whole roasted almonds
Juice of 1/2 small lemon
1/4 cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino chees
A healthy glug of olive oil
Salt, pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees, cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Slice the squash across into 1/2 inch slices and put them on an oiled baking sheet lined with foil or silicon mats, if you would like. Season gently with salt and roast, flipping over halfway, for about 20-25 minutes until soft and browned.  Meanwhile, remove the ribs from the kale and slice across very thinly.  Finely dice the shallot and coarsely chop the almonds.  Slightly cool the roasted squash and cut it into 3-4 pieces per slice.  Toss the kale, squash, shallot, and almonds with the juice of 1/2 lemon, most of the grated cheese, a couple tablespoons of olive oil and salt and pepper.  Pile on a plate and top off with the remaining cheese.  Enjoy as a salad or a lovely seasonal side dish.

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